Feelings from Within
by Agest
Summary: Mia knows how she feels about Isaac deep down inside but hasn't admitted it to herself. Maybe all it takes to open her eyes is a little push in the right direction. Can Mia discover her love for Isaac and let him in on the secret as well? Mudshipping Oneshot. Complete.


Here's a new story I just finished up for you mudshippers out there.

How to read dialogue in my stories:

- "Quote" marks means someone is speaking

- _Italics_ indicates thoughts

Legal Stuff:

- I don't own Golden Sun or the affiliate characters

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**Feelings form Within**

"You love him," Jenna stated, laughing and looking over at the cerulean haired girl next to her that was avoiding eye contact and blushing as she stared at her feet. Mia brushed some of the hair that had fallen into her eyes out of the way as she looked back at Jenna, still with a twinge of pink visible on her cheeks. "L-l-l-ove?" she managed to stutter out, trying not to blush more profusely.

Jenna couldn't help herself and giggled again at Mia's reaction, putting a hand on the shoulder of her embarrassed friend to let her know that despite her uncontrollable laughter, she was being completely serious. "But love...? Isn't that a little bit much...?" Mia slowly questioned, looking back to her feet.

Jenna let herself stop laughing before replying. "Oh come on Mia, you need to be honest with yourself. What were you just telling me about?" Jenna asked with a knowing grin. Jenna paused until Mia finally looked back at her to ensure she had Mia's full attention.

Jenna put on her best "lovesick schoolgirl" face and began to mimic Mia in a heavily emotional voice. "Every time I think about Isaac my heart beats faster...Whenever my mind is wandering I always end up thinking about him..." Jenna quoted from what Mia had just told her earlier, watching as the cerulean haired girl became more and more embarrassed.

Deciding to add one of her own invention, Jenna put on her best innocent look and said, "I wonder what it would be like to kiss him...?" appearing genuinely curious, blinking cutely and watching with great interest as Mia's face turned beat red and turned away quickly.

"I-I-I never said that!" Mia exclaimed and Jenna burst out in fits of giggling once again until a tiny raincloud appeared over her head and doused her with water. At first she was a bit shocked but then realized she must have be spot on with her assessment and laughed even harder, lying down on the grass, waiting for the fits of hilarity to stop.

Mia just looked back at Jenna with a half embarrassed pouty face that said _you deserved that_. She finally controlled her laughter and sat back up. "Okay, okay. Maybe I did deserve that," Jenna admitted with a smile as Mia nodded at her with her arms crossed in mock anger.

"...But after reacting like that there is no way you can claim you don't love Isaac now," Jenna stated with a smug smile and watched Mia turn a slightly darker shade of pink.

Mia was silent for a moment but then said, "Okay...so maybe...maybe I do love-"

She was cut off by the arrival of another person behind the two of them and a familiar voice called out, "Hey Jenna. Hey Mia. What are you two up to over here?" Mia sat there frozen, staring straight ahead of her as she recognized the voice that belonged to a certain blonde haired adept. Her face flushed red though she was thankful she did not actually finish the sentence with Isaac right there.

Due to a lack of response from either Jenna or Mia, Isaac looked back and forth at them with confusion as Jenna turned toward him. In a dangerously sweet voice she said, "I was just speaking to Mia. **Privately**," she emphasized, conjuring a flame in her hand.

Isaac put his hands up defensively and waved them about a bit to indicate he got the message and was not interested in being fried to a crisp, though he looked over at Mia with slight concern due to her not reacting to anything happening around her. The blond haired boy took a small step toward Mia and opened his mouth to say something but was halted when Jenna said, "**Isaac.**"

Seeing the fire in the auburn haired girl's eyes, he wisely stepped back and said, "I got it. I got it..." Jenna smiled and let the flames dissipate as Isaac addressed her. "I came over here to let both of you know dinner was ready anyway," he said in defeat.

"Thanks," Jenna said in response. "We will join you in a bit." With that, Isaac took one last glance at Mia, the same concern in his eyes, before walking away and back to the rest of the group.

"Thanks..." Mia said in a voice that was barely audible. "I wasn't sure how to react because I was surprised so suddenly..."

Jenna just smiled at her when Mia looked over. "No problem Mia," Jenna said. The silence between them lasted for a few moments before Jenna finally broke it. "Well now that you've at least admitted it to yourself, you should do something about it," the auburn haired girl told Mia.

"Do something...?" Mia questioned.

"Yeah. To show him that you love him," Jenna replied.

"Show him...but how..." Mia wondered, looking down at her hands while thinking.

Jenna looked at her before turning away and shrugging her shoulders. "Who knows? Maybe you should just kiss him," she suggested nonchalantly.

Mia's issues with controlling the color of her face continued when she stuttered out an unintelligible response that sent Jenna into another fit of giggles. "I'm sorry Mia, I'm afraid I didn't understand what you said."

Mia shook her head and looked over at Jenna with a touch of pink in her cheeks. "I...I couldn't possibly do that..." she said in a small voice.

Jenna just sighed. "Why not?" she asked, jumping straight to the point.

"I just can't!" Mia replied. "It'd be too embarrassing...and what if he doesn't feel the same way?" she asked with a worried voice.

Jenna laughed. "I don't think you have to worry about that," she said.

"What does that mean?" Mia asked timidly.

Jenna just smiled. "That's something you have to figure out for yourself. You'll be fine Mia. I believe you can do it," she said, reaching out and pulling the cerulean haired girl into a hug. "Good luck," Jenna whispered into Mia's ear before standing up and offering Mia a hand. "Come now, we shouldn't keep them waiting on dinner for too long," she said. Mia accepted the hand to help her to her feet and they walked over to join the others, Mia composing herself along the way.

"Ah, here they are," Piers stated as Jenna and Mia walked up to join the group and sat down in the open space near Isaac. "Sorry, sorry!" Jenna apologized with good humor, waving her hand as if to brush away the fact they were the last to come.

As Mia sat down, Isaac gave her a look to ask her if everything was all right and Mia just gave him a smile back to indicate that all was well. Apparently reassured, Isaac turned back to the group and laughed with everyone else when Garet said, "Finally! I'm hungry enough to eat an entire cow right now."

That earned him a glare from Jenna, who felt the need to point out that he never woke up on time and shouldn't really comment on others being late. "All he needs is a strong woman to keep him in line," Sheba insinuated, looking directly at Jenna and causing the group to laugh at the auburn haired girl's expense this time, much to her displeasure.

In the meantime, food was being passed around and Mia took a bowl of rice that Isaac had just offered her, accidentally brushing her fingers against his. A tingling feeling started in her hands and spread throughout her body at the contact, causing her to almost drop the bowl, but she saved it at the last second with her face changing colors.

"Sorry," Isaac said sheepishly, thinking it might have somehow been his fault. "No, no that's okay..." Mia said in response with a smile at the blonde haired boy, hiding her embarrassment at the situation. "It was my fault anyway, I just dropped it," she explained. Isaac nodded in response, still looking at her.

"Ahem, you're holding up the line" Sheba pointed out with a fake cough, bringing the two back to earth and making them aware of their surroundings again as Isaac and Mia quickly turned away from each other with embarrassment and Mia passed the bowl of rice on to Sheba, apologizing.

"I'm sorry!," Mia said again in a panic, causing everyone to laugh at her momentary absentmindedness in the situation. They continued to pass food down the line until everyone had some and Mia was careful to not have any more mishaps with what Isaac was passing her.

Mia didn't look at Isaac again at all until everyone had started eating. When she finally snuck a glance over at Isaac she caught him looking back and she hurriedly averted her eyes. Fortunately nobody else noticed what had just happened and Mia busied herself with her food while blushing at the fact Isaac had noticed her looking over.

To reduce the awkwardness between Mia and himself, Isaac joined the conversation the rest of the group was having about their next goal for the quest to reach the Mars Lighthouse. Slowly, Mia also got sucked into the discussion, and left the embarrassment behind.

Dinner itself proved to be pretty much uneventful, however as people disagreed about the priority of tasks to accomplish before the Mars Lighthouse, the conversation carried well on into the evening. Eventually people started to get tired or just bored of the conversation at hand and began to retire back to their tents to catch some sleep and not be exhausted the following day. Mia continued to sit outside as darkness came because she was first in the watch rotation for the night. One by one, her fellow adepts said goodnight and went off to bed until it was just Mia, Isaac, and Jenna remaining.

Jenna nudged Mia gently with her elbow and made a show of saying, "Goodnight Mia. You know where to find me if you need help during your watch." Once she was sure she had Mia's attention, Jenna leaned over to Isaac and kissed him boldly on the cheek, saying, "Goodnight Isaac. See you tomorrow."

Before Isaac had a chance to respond, Jenna turned and winked at Mia, walking off toward the tents laughing as Mia's face turned beat red. Isaac looked a bit confused by what had just happened and started to say, "Jenna…what-" before Jenna cut him off. "Oh nothing," Jenna said slyly as she continued to laugh at the situation on her way back to the tents, but to Mia the message was perfectly clear: _Just do that._

Isaac looked at Jenna's tent for a few moments after she disappeared before shaking his head and mumbling, "What in the world…" Seeming to remember where he was he jumped slightly then looked over at Mia, who still had quite a bit of pink coloration on her cheeks. Isaac blushed in embarrassment as well and with a sheepish grin said, "Ah…I'm not quite sure what that was about…"

Mia just shrugged and said, "Beats me." Mia sighed. "My guess is it was just Jenna being Jenna," she added, knowing perfectly well what was going on.

Isaac seemed to be thinking for a moment, but shrugged it off and changed the subject. Adopting a serious tone he said, "So anyway…Is something wrong Mia?"

Mia looked confused for a moment, wondering what he could be referring to. "Umm…What makes you say that?" she answered with a confused look.

Isaac scratched his head in thought and replied. "Well…it just sort of seemed like something was a bit off when I came to tell you and Jenna dinner was ready. I couldn't quite place it but…you just seemed different somehow…" he tried to explain.

Realizing what he was referring to, Mia blushed and suddenly looked down at her lap and fidgeted with her robe. "Oh you mean that…" she said shyly. Composing herself, Mia put on a smile and turned back to Isaac. "Don't worry it wasn't anything really. There's nothing wrong," she explained.

Isaac caught her eyes and tried to determine the truth behind her words. Apparently satisfied, he shrugged and leaned back against a tree behind him, closing his eyes. "If you say so," he said. "Just remember if you need someone to talk to about something, I'll always try to help out," he added, opening one eye lazily to peek at her reaction.

Mia sat there as the irony of the statement hit her. _Well…talking to him about my feelings is what I can't seem to do in the first place, so if I did manage to do it, there would be nothing for him to help me with._ Mia just gave him a sweet smile and turned back to Isaac saying, "Of course. You've always been there for me Isaac, I know that. I've really appreciated all the advice and support you've given me so far on our journey as well."

Isaac opened his eyes again and let himself stare up into the sky as Mia finished speaking. "Ah…well I don't think I've done all that much…" he said, slightly red in the face. Isaac turned his head toward Mia with a smile. "If anything, I should be the one thanking you…"

Mia was about to deny it with a wave of her hands but Isaac could tell she was about to brush the praise off and insisted. "No, seriously. You've definitely kept me positive through the tough times and being around you has made this journey much more enjoyable. Not to mention you've probably saved my life at least a dozen times so far…"

Mia blushed at the compliment and scrambled to find a response so that she wouldn't embarrass herself. Mia tried to put on an irritated expression and failed miserably, but spoke anyway. "You guys are only so reckless because you know I'm around. You'd be fine without me backing you up if you took fights more seriously," she said in mock anger.

Isaac couldn't help himself and burst out laughing at how poorly Mia did at sounding pissed off, causing her to burst into a fit of giggling after trying to hold it back for a few seconds. Leaning against the tree as well, Mia turned toward Isaac and asked, "That bad huh?" in a defeated tone. Isaac nodded, still trying to compose himself after his outburst. "Well I tried," Mia said with a shrug, shaking her head.

"It's hard to imagine you seriously angry Mia," Isaac offered. "Though I have to admit the attempt was cute," he added obliviously.

That statement caught Mia's attention. _Cute? Did he…_ Mia felt her face flush just due to the way Isaac had worded his statement. _No, no. He only meant that it was funny how bad my 'angry' tone was_, she deduced. _I can't believe that I took that literally for a second there_, Mia thought, looking over at Isaac.

Suddenly she heard Jenna's voice in her head as she realized she was sitting only a few centimeters away from Isaac. _'Maybe you should just kiss him.'_ As the thought registered in Mia's head she could feel her face turn several shades of red darker, acknowledging that she did actually have the urge to do so. She shook her head slightly to try and clear the thought and nervously brought a hand up to her head, beginning to slowly twirl her hair with one finger.

This certainly didn't go unnoticed by Isaac, who was unused to seeing Mia as such a nervous wreck so he commented upon her strange behavior in a roundabout way. "Mia, you look a little red…are you okay?" he asked, still smiling about what had just happened.

"Ah…it's just embarrassing how badly I failed…" she explained, trying to keep a straight face.

Isaac totally bought it and just laughed again. "It was funny Mia. No need to feel embarrassed over that," he told her with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll stop laughing," he added. "I promise!"

Mia gave him a nod of acceptance and Isaac managed to return to a more serious demeanor. Sensing that the silence between them was going on for too long, Mia spoke up. "Anyway Isaac…you don't have watch until later. Shouldn't you be getting some sleep like the others?" she asked, looking over at him and awaiting his response.

Isaac just shrugged. "I probably should be…" he said slowly. "I was a bit concerned about earlier though so I figured I'd make sure there was nothing wrong with you first. It just sort of led to this I guess…" he said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. Did you want some time alone? If me being here is a problem-" Isaac added before being cut off by Mia.

"No, no, that's not what I meant at all," she said with a quick gesture to indicate he was misunderstanding. "I definitely don't mind you being here, I was just wondering why you were out here," she explained. Mia hesitated but then expanded on her statement by saying, "I actually like it more with you here. Free time we can spend together is quite limited after all…"

Isaac smiled at the girl next to him who had suddenly started acting all shy and timid. "That's all too true," he said. "Sometimes it seems we're so consumed by our mission that we never really get a chance to just relax and enjoy each other's company."

Mia smiled at that, knowing she could agree with that. "It's strange isn't it…" Mia said, lost in thought. Isaac looked over at her with a questioning expression and when Mia noticed, she explained further. "It's just…well we haven't actually known each other for that long when you think about it," she said. "Considering that we only met recently and never really did have time to just get to know each other, it seems odd that I feel like we've known each other our whole lives…"

Isaac pondered the idea for a moment and said, "Hmm…Well I guess when you live together you can't help but to get to know them at a much quicker pace."

Mia giggled after Isaac spoke and knew she had to explain the sudden outburst. "Sorry, sorry," she said laughing. "What you said just made me think about all the little things we learned about each other while living together," Mia explained. "When I thought about that, I remembered the time I learned your hair could never be fixed and couldn't stop the laughter."

That caused Isaac to chuckle as he recalled when Mia had taken it upon herself to try and straighten his hair, much to her frustration as well as the amusement of the three boys. "I'm never going to forget that one," Isaac said as his laughter died down. "You were so serious about it too and it totally made Garet and Ivan's day…"

Mia scowled as she remembered the two of them had tried to make a bet with her that she'd fail that particular task as well. "I should have frozen them to the floor for trying to make a bet on it too," she said.

Isaac just shook his head. "As much as I'd like to see that, it's still difficult to imagine you actually doing it." Mia raised her eyebrow at Isaac to ask if he doubted her capability to go through with it. Isaac quickly waved his hand in denial when he saw the way Mia was looking at him. "I'm not doubting you could…I was just thinking the Mia I know is too kind at heart to act like that…" he tried to explain.

"Hmm…? What makes you say that?" Mia asked in a scarily similar manner to how Jenna talks right before she's about to fry someone to a crisp.

"All right! All right! I get it," Isaac said, admitting defeat and causing Mia to smile and giggle at him again, back to her previous mood. "It's just hard to connect scary Mia with the Mia who is always so gentle and caring," he explained. "Remember that time in Kolima when you helped that little kid find his lost toy after we healed the forest?" Isaac asked her.

Mia nodded and Isaac spoke again. "Well I think that's the first time I realized just how selfless and caring you were."

Mia tried to deny the compliment by saying, "Oh that was nothing really…"

Isaac sighed at her. "You need another example?"

_He has another example? _Mia wondered. _But that was just helping the kid out after he became human again…It wasn't something amazing or special._

Apparently the question was rhetorical because Isaac spoke again without even waiting for an answer. "How about this then?" he asked. "Remember when I woke up after Colosso? I was told you were watching over me the entire time and had accidentally fallen asleep because you refused to leave me until I woke up."

Mia felt her face flash red at that particular recollection and she stuttered a bit trying to respond. "T-That was just…I was worried because I didn't know if you were okay or not…" she said timidly, fidgeting once again with the hem of her robes.

Isaac laughed at the reaction because he knew there was no way to refute what he was saying after that. "I thought it was sweet that you cared that much though," he told her. "For some reason it's really cute when you get all worried or embarrassed about something," Isaac added with an honest smile.

_There it is again!_ Mia's mind screamed when she heard Isaac. _I want to believe that he means it like that…but…I'm not sure…_

Mia felt her finger once again twirling strands of her hair in nervousness as she spoke up bravely."Hey….Isaac….?"

Isaac looked over at her questioningly. "Hmm…?"

Mia's face was getting redder by the second but she figured she had to ask while she could. "Err…umm…" She fell silent for a few seconds.

"What is it?" Isaac asked, probing gently for what was on her mind.

Mia turned away and took a deep breath before returning Isaac's gaze. "When you said…When you said 'cute'…." She trailed off.

Isaac's face suddenly flushed in embarrassment as well and he found it hard to speak. Turning away from Mia for a second before turning back and seeing her fidgeting a bit from nervousness, he said, "Umm…That was…I just think that…" he tried to say but trailed off.

"You have this look when you're embarrassed or worried…" Isaac tried to explain. "I just think that there's something about it that makes you look especially pretty in those moments…"

_Pretty? He…Isaac thinks I'm pretty? _Mia's heart fluttered at the thought and she was suddenly finding it quite difficult to speak. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came and so she was quiet again for a few seconds, just thinking.

"I…well…I don't know how being worried could make me…pretty…" Mia finally said, a bit embarrassed by the situation.

Isaac just looked over at her and noticed how timidly she was acting. "Ah…give yourself more credit Mia," he said. "You're a beautiful girl you know…" he added, trailing off and looking away from the cerulean haired girl, not wanting to see her reaction.

Mia didn't really know what to say to that and certainly didn't see it coming. "T-T-Thanks…" she managed to get out before an awkward silence descended between the two embarrassed adepts. _I want him to know how I feel though…_ Mia thought, risking a glance at Isaac who had still not turned back toward her.

The awkwardness was building up to an unbearable level when Mia's hand acted of its own accord and she reached out to take Isaac's hand in her own. This sudden, unexpected contact caused Isaac to stiffen but then slowly turn back to face Mia.

He was mesmerized by her extremely pink face looking directly at him as she moved her hands away from his and placed them around his neck. Mia leaned in slowly and for an instant Isaac could feel her warm breath on his cheek before Mia's lips found his and he relinquished the moment to her.

Mia could feel the soft touch of Isaac's lips pressed against her own and gave in to all the feelings she had kept inside for so long, allowing them to express themselves through the kiss. When she pulled back from Isaac, Mia folded her hands in her lap and timidly continued looking at Isaac to judge his reaction.

Isaac just sat there staring into Mia's eyes and said, 'Mia…you…"

Mia stopped him with her words. "I might be a bit embarrassed right now," she said. "But if being embarrassed makes you think I'm more beautiful…..I hope you don't mind a kiss from a beautiful girl…that wants you to know how she feels…" she said in a shy voice, making great effort not to break eye contact with Isaac.

The blonde haired boy looked a bit bewildered to be in such a situation so suddenly, but reached out and pulled Mia closer to him, en-wrapping her in a hug and whispering into her ear. "Well this boy wanted you to know what he thinks of you as well," he told her, causing Mia to blush a deep scarlet as Isaac kissed her cheek.

She could feel a feeling of happiness welling up inside her, but had to ask, "Does that mean-?"

"Mmhmm," came his quick reply.

Mia gave a content sigh of relief and allowed herself to just relax in Isaac's arms.

No more words were necessary. Their feelings were mutual.

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As always, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments on the story as well =)


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